Far in the pillared dark
Thrush music went –
Almost like a call to come in
To the dark and lament

But no, I was out for stars;
I would not come in.

– ‘Come In,’ Robert Frost

For the seasoned crew of the USS Endeavour, answering a freighter’s distress call should be routine. But the pirate attack on the Perth turns out to be anything but, ruthless tactics and an on-board accident leaving Endeavour crippled and many of her crew dead and incapacitated, including beloved Captain Leo MacCallister. Starfleet at once realises these pirates, a gang named the Wild Hunt, are a well-armed and equipped organisation that have operated with impunity under the noses of Federation authorities for months on end, and a response is essential.

Dragged from the Academy back to frontline service, veteran investigator Commander Matt Rourke is assigned as Endeavour’s new captain. But more than the pursuit of pirates, he finds a scarred and embittered crew resentful of change, both of the new faces and new their mission profile. Success will take more than eliminating the Wild Hunt, but winning their loyalty.